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SlamCharlotte strives to promote poetic growth, performance enhancement and increased camaraderie among the poets and the community through our monthly slam competition.

The monthly slam is open to everyone 21 years or older unless the slam is designated as a slam for a particular demographic. For example; the women’s slam.

Each poet competing at SlamCharlotte’s monthly slam is asked to join the SlamCharlotte FaceBook group. This will ensure that they are informed of all events pertaining to SlamCharlotte. They are also asked to check the SlamCharlotte website on a regular basis.

We are excited about our new slam season!! We are excited about the poets that come out and slam monthly and the poetry that we continue to bring to Charlotte and everyone who continues to show so much love and support.

As we continue to grow and evolve, our criteria for our slam must do the same. Here are the rules/criteria for the 2017-2018 slam season. We will continue to evaluate what is working and what needs modifications. We will make adjustments as needed.

Criteria: The monthly slam is open to anyone 21 years or older unless the slam is designated as a slam for a particular demographic. For example; the women’s slam. The sign up list for the slam opens at 7:15 PM and 12 poets will be allowed to compete.

*If a poet shows up after the sign-up cut off time has passed and there are still available slots in the slam, they will be allowed to compete. They will perform first. If there are multiple late poets and there are available slots, Random.org will be used to determine order. *

The 12 slots are broken down in this manner:

1-4 first come first served5-6 reserved for female poets (these slots will not be filled with non- female poets)7-9 lottery style drawing10-11 out of town poet(s)-if no one has signed up by 7:30 these slots become a part of the lottery12 last month’s winner-If the winner of the last month’s slam doesn’t sign up by 7:30, their slot becomes part of the lottery.

The competition will be a CLEAN SLATE 3 round slam with elimination each round. Random.org will be used to determine the order of the first round. In the 2nd and 3rd round, the poet with the highest score will perform first and the round will end with the poet with the lowest score.

Tie Breaker:

In the event that there is a tie for 1st-4th place, the poet with the highest cumulative score will be determined the winner. If the cumulative scores result in a tie, the poets will share the prize money.

No Repeat Rule: Poets who successfully make it to the third round of competition can not repeat that poem again until the iWPS qualifier in February. If they are invited back to the finals competition in April, they will be allowed to repeat any poem used in the 3rd round at that time. If a poet repeats a poem they have previously used in the third round during the season, they will be disqualified from the possibility of returning to compete in the Grand Slam Finals. If there is a tie breaker round, the poem used DOES NOT count under the no repeat rule.

Criteria/Team Selection:SlamCharlotte utilizes a point system to determine which poets will advance to the grand slam finals in April.Points are awarded for each slam from July through March. The points are awarded based on the following:1st place 4 points2nd place 3 points3rd place 2 points4th place 1 point

The scores and accumulation of points are maintained by the Artistic Director, Inkera Oshun. If poets have questions about their standing at any time during the season, they can obtain that information by contacting her directly.

Grand Slam Finals Poet Selection: The 12 poets with the highest accumulation of points at the end of the March slam will be invited to participate in the Grand Slam Finals. The list of the top 12 poets will be posted to the SlamCharlotte Facebook group and the SlamCharlotte website. In the event that a poet included in the top 12 is unable or unwilling to compete in the Grand Slam Finals, the next poet on the list will be contacted to compete. Only poets placing in the top 4 throughout the season will be included in the poets invited to participate in the Grand Slam Finals in April.

No Walk Rule: SlamCharlotte encourages poets to slam at various venues. However, we feel strongly about poets who MAKE multiple slam teams thus holding slots on various teams “hostage” until they decide where they want to slam.

Effective with the April 2012 Grand Slam Finals, if a poet has made a slam team prior to SlamCharlotte’s Grand Slam Finals, they must decide whether they will remain on that team or slam in the Grand Slam Finals. If they decide not to slam at the Grand Slam Finals the next eligible poet will be invited to participate. If a poet who has made SlamCharlotte’s team is eligible to slam in another Grand Slam Finals, they must declare their intentions to remain on the team or slam for another team. If the poet fails to declare their intentions, the Slammaster reserves the right to replace them with the 5th place Grand Slam Finals poet.

Finals:The Grand Slam Finals occurs yearly in April. The top 12 poets will compete for a spot on the slam team. The competition will be a 3 round slam with elimination each round. The first round will be 12 poets, the 2nd round 8 poets, and the 3rd round 6 poets. Random.Org will be used to determine the order of the 1st round. The order for the 2nd and 3rd round will be determined by the poets score, the poet with the highest score will go first and the poet with the lowest score will go last. The scores are cumulative for all three rounds.

There will not be a cash prize awarded to the top 3 poets in the Grand Slam Finals nor will there be a feature. The prize money and the funds collected from passing the hat will go toward assisting the team in getting to regional and national competition.

SlamCharlotte will purchase the PSi membership at the associate level for the Grand Slam Champ. The poet will be responsible for his/her membership renewal thereafter. The remaining team members are responsible for purchasing/renewing their PSI membership.

Team Member Financial Obligation:The slam master and financial advisor will attempt to raise funds to cover the registration fee for all PSi events, Southern Fried, the cost of airfare, hotel, and per diem. Team members will receive a financial report at the second team meeting and each week thereafter. In the event that the Slammaster and the financial advisor are unable to secure enough funds to meet budget, the team members/SlamCharlotte representative are expected to assist in fundraising and/or cover the cost of the trip themselves. In the event that budget is not met and the team member/SlamCharlotte representative is unable to meet the financial obligation, the team member replacement rule will be utilized.

Team Practice Schedule:The new team will meet directly after the Grand Slam Finals and no later than a week after finals to discuss team practice and expectations. SlamCharlotte historically practices 2 times a week and the schedule is established based on the team member(s) availability. Team members are expected to attend each practice/scheduled team performances. In the event that the team member is unable to attend practice or a scheduled performance, they are required to contact the slam master or coach to make them aware of this. Excessive absences from practice or scheduled performances may result in the slam master replacing that team member.

Team Member Replacement:In the event that a poet is unable or unwilling to perform their duty as a SlamCharlotte team member, the 5th ranked poet from finals will be contacted. The subsequent poets will be contacted down to the 12th poet until the spot is filled. In the event that the vacant spot on the team can’t be filled with the remaining poets from the grand slam finals, SlamCharlotte will have an open last chance slam. The slam will be limited to the first 12 poets to sign up.

**These rules can be changed at the discretion of the Slammaster. Any changes will be posted to the SlamCharlotte FB group and the SlamCharlotte website.**

SlamCharlotte is dedicated to bringing Charlotte and the surrounding areas the best in featured artists.

In an effort to do this, the SlamCharlotte Management team has decided to open up feature slots to poets who have NEVER featured at our venue before.

*We will start accepting requests 1 May 2015.* DO NOT contact me prior to that requesting a feature. We typically leave the Call for Features open until 1 June. We book our entire season at one time.

This is how it works..........please read the entire note.

Our slam is the 3rd Friday of every month. We don't have features in April, May, or June. Our slam season runs from July to June.

SlamCharlotte passes the hat to pay our features and allows them to sell merchandise. In the past, features have received between $100-$400 but please understand that we have no way of guaranteeing you a certain amount. We can offer lodging at a local hotel the night of your feature.

We can provide you with a listing of other poetry venues in the area BUT we do not book shows for you.Our feature slots go very quickly and we are thankful for that. So that means when the request for features open up, you should be expedient in your request.

If you are interested in featuring, please send an email/FB message to MY attention. The email should include the month you are interested in featuring. If you are new to performance poetry and there is a slim chance that we might not know you, I urge you to send links to past performances, your written work will not be accepted. Verbal requests to feature or requests sent to other members of the management team will not be accepted.It will be taken to the SlamCharlotte Management team for consideration. Everyone who sends a request will be notified of our decision.

After all feature slots are filled, we start a short waiting list in the event that a feature has to cancel.You can’t slam for a spot on SlamCharlotte's team and feature in the same season. We seldom book features who have been a part of a SlamCharlotte team, however we will consider this option if you are part of a group of touring poets.

We hope to see you at SlamCharlotte as a featured artist!

2015-2016 Slam Season Schedule

Friday, July 17, 2015Friday, August 21, 2015Friday, September 18, 2015Friday, October 16, 2015Friday, November 20, 2015Friday, December 18, 2015Friday, January 15, 2016Friday, February 19, 2016-iWPS qualifierFriday, March 18, 2016-Power of SHE & WOWps qualifier-Celebrating the Women of slam

If there are any interested parties who want to host iWPS 2016, please make your intention known here or via email to myself by Monday, 25 August. My email address is: inkera@slamcharlotte.com

Subject line should be: “ iWPS 2016 Host”

At that point, all interested parties will receive a vetting packet of questions and considerations regarding your potential to host the event. The turn around time for completion of the vetting packet will need to happen fairly quickly, so that the Executive Council can work to secure a host city.

Please understand that this is not a request for “I’ll do it if you need me to” bids. This is a call for cities who WANT to host 2016. Also, you need not have the bid completed to state interest. That’s what the vetting packet you’ll receive is for.

Anyone can bid for iWPS. It need not be a SlamMaster or even a member of PSi.

I would love to work with you to bring iWPS 2016 to your city. I look forward to hearing from you.

Announcing the 2014 Brenda Moosey Online Video Slam! The winner of this online slam will get one of the two remaining spots at the 2014 Women of the World Poetry Slam with her registration paid by PSi. Here are the rules:

1. All entrants must be at least 18 and live their lives as women. Poets who are currently on the waitlist for WOWPS may enter, but those who are already on the roster of competing poets may not.

2. Videos must be of the poet performing one of her original poems and must be no longer than 3 minutes 10 seconds.

3. Entrants should email their videos in a format that is supported by Facebook (preferably MP4) to wowpsvideoslam@gmail.com by Feb. 7.

4. All video entries will be posted on the PSi Facebook page on Feb. 8. Entrants and supporters are more than welcome to link to the entries and encourage people to vote.

5. Anyone may vote ONCE for their favorite poet by emailing wowpsvideoslam@gmail.com with the poet's name in the subject line. No text in the body of the email is necessary. NOTE: "Likes" or comments on the videos on FB will NOT count as votes.

6. Voting will run Feb. 8-22 and the winner will contacted and posted on Feb. 9.

If you need more information regarding how to host a PSi event in your city (specifically iWPS 2014) in your city, I would love to talk with you. I can even schedule a trip to your city to sit down and talk face to face.

Hosting iWPS is a great way to bring lots of great poets and poetry to your city. It is also a great way to increase participation in the local poetry scene.

If there are any interested parties who want to host iWPS 2014, please make your intention known here or via email to myself by Monday, 29 July. My email address is: inkera@slamcharlotte.com

Subject line should be: “ iWPS 2014 Host”

At that point, all interested parties will receive a vetting packet of questions and considerations regarding your potential to host the event. The turn around time for completion of the vetting packet will need to happen fairly quickly, so that the Executive Council can work to secure a host city.

Please understand that this is not a request for “I’ll do it if you need me to” bids. This is a call for cities who WANT to host 2014. Also, you need not have the bid completed to state interest. That’s what the vetting packet you’ll receive is for.

Anyone can bid for iWPS. It need not be a SlamMaster or even a member of PSi.

I would love to work with you to bring iWPS 2014 to your city. I look forward to hearing from you.